New York Yankees: Why it might be time to get rid of Jacoby Ellsbury

The New York Yankees signed star outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury to a 7 year, $153 million contract back in 2014. It is now 2018, we are three years into Ellsbury’s contract and he’s not even playing. Is it time to get rid of him?

When the New York Yankees signed Jacoby Ellsbury back in 2014 they were hopeful they’d be getting MVP runner-up Jacoby Ellsbury, not constantly injured Ellsbury. Well unfortunately they got constantly injured Ellsbury, and because of this they found players to fill his spot. Players by the name of Aaron Hicks, and now Giancarlo Stanton.

Ellsbury hardly played during the 2017 season, and unless someone gets injured, it does not look like he will be playing in 2018. So why aren’t we looking for a new destination for him? When Ellsbury is healthy he does put up respectable numbers and he is very consistent so you’d have to think there would be some takers out there.

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If the Yankees were to give away Ellsbury they would unfortunately have to take on a significant chunk of his contract. When the Yankees got Stanton during the off-season, they got $265 million of the $295 million left on his contract. With that being said you can expect the Yankees to take on a chunk similar to what the Marlins took on with Stanton.

The tough part in trading Ellsbury would be getting a potential suitor to take on enough of his contract. With a little over $84 million left on his contract the Yankees would be hoping to get rid of about $70 million or more. For a player who hasn’t played much the last few years you can imagine why teams would be hesitant to pay him $70 million or more over four years.

The only way this deal happens is if the Yankees throw in someone like Chance Adams, or one of their high level prospects. In doing so the Yankees sweeten the deal, and make the other team feel as if they’re getting someone out of it if Ellsbury is continuously injured.

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Now what would the Yankees be looking for in return?

The Yankees starting pitching has been struggling in recent years, so if the Yankees did manage to get rid of Ellsbury they should be looking for a starting pitcher or two in return. Now in terms of potential suitors you’d have to think about teams like maybe the Royals who are only declining.

In dealing Ellsbury to Kansas City you might be able to convince the Royals to give up someone like Jason Hammel, or even Ian Kennedy. To get either of these pitchers the Yankees would have to give up Chance Adams or one of their high level prospects because if Ellsbury is constantly injured they still have someone with promise.

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